On Tuesday, February 17, the Village’s Planning and Zoning Commission completed a public hearing to consider preliminary zoning applications regarding the Osho Development proposed on the property at the northeast corner of Lakewood Road and Miller Road. Osho Business Group has a contract to purchase the property, and has applied to rezone the property to the B-2 Neighborhood Convenience Business zoning district, to subdivide the property into two lots, to develop a gas station with a 7,200-square-foot convenience store on the southernmost lot, and to develop a 10,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail building and stormwater management basin on the northernmost lot. As required by Illinois law and local ordinances, the public hearing is part of a standard procedure that the Village must follow to review all zoning applications. This legal procedure requires the Village to evaluate every proposed development based on a standard list of criteria that consider technical expertise, long-term community planning, and impartiality, rather than personal opinion and speculation. This procedure protects the rights of all property owners in the Village, including residents and owners of property proposed to be developed.
 
The Planning and Zoning Commission consists of seven appointed commissioners who are all Village residents. The Commission makes recommendations to the Village Board of Trustees, but they do not make any final decisions. After the conclusion of the February 17 public hearing, the six members of the Planning and Zoning Commission in attendance voted on a motion to recommend approval of the zoning requests. The motion to recommend approval failed by a count of zero votes in favor and six votes against. Therefore, per Illinois law, the proposed development shall not be approved by the Village Board of Trustees except by a favorable vote from at least four of the Village’s six trustees. Osho Business Group has not yet decided whether they will take the next step and have the proposed development considered by the Village Board of Trustees, or whether they will formally withdraw their applications. Because of this, the zoning applications have not yet been scheduled for a Board of Trustees meeting. The Village recommends that concerned residents continue to monitor the Agendas/Minutes page of the Village website at https://www.lith.org/government/agendas-minutes for future updates.